Sam Howell

Howell enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in January 2019 and beat out Jace Ruder and Cade Fortin for the starting quarterback role, becoming the first true freshman to start the season for the Tar Heels.[3][4] In his debut, he passed for 245 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-20 victory over South Carolina.[5] Against NC State, Howell threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns in a 41–10 victory.[6]

Howell finished the regular season completing 234 of 388 passes for 3,347 yards with 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In the Tar Heels' bowl game, he threw for 294 yards and three more touchdowns in the 55–13 win over Temple in the 2019 Military Bowl. He earned MVP honors for his performance, which also included a touchdown reception on a trick play. Howell's 38 touchdown passes was a single-season record in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision for a true freshman quarterback, leading him to be named ACC Rookie of the Year.[7][8] His yardage and touchdown totals were also the highest in the ACC for the season, earning him third-team All-ACC honors.[9]

Howell was named to the Maxwell Award, Manning Award, and Davey O'Brien Award watchlists prior to his sophomore season.[10] He earned ACC Player of the Week honors after throwing for 443 yards against Virginia.[11] Against Wake Forest two weeks later, Howell threw for 550 yards and 6 touchdowns, both school records, while rushing for another touchdown.[12] Howell would recorded his second career touchdown catch in a 62–26 victory over the Miami Hurricanes. He would finish the season throwing three touchdowns in the Orange Bowl and would earn second-team All-ACC honors in the process.

Much like the preseason of his sophomore year, Howell received significant praise going into his junior campaign, being named to multiple award watchlists and being considered as one of the top quarterbacks in the nation.[13] Against Georgia State in week two, Howell threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 104 yards and two more scores, becoming the second quarterback in Tar Heel history to throw for over 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game.[14] The following week against Virginia, Howell threw for 307 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 112 yards, joining Lamar Jackson as the second Power 5 quarterback to post back-to-back games of over 300 passing and 100 rushing yards since 2004.[15]

On the last play of the overtime game against Pittsburgh, he suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, causing him to miss the following game against Wofford.[16] He made his return in a 34-30 loss to NC State, throwing for 147 yards, one touchdown, and an interception alongside two rushing touchdowns. He finished the season throwing for 3,056 with 24 touchdowns while rushing for 828 yards with 11 touchdowns. He graduated in December 2021 and announced that he would forgo his remaining college eligibility to enter the 2022 NFL Draft.[17][18] Howell would finish his career throwing for 92 touchdown passes and 10,283 yards, both school records. He also threw at least one touchdown in every game he played.